Zapier and Make are the default answers when someone says "I need to connect these two apps." But that convenience comes at a cost — literally. Zapier charges per task, and if your workflows scale, the bill scales with them. Make is more generous on pricing, but both platforms own your automation logic and your data. Open source workflow automation tools flip that model. You get the same trigger-action logic, the same app integrations, and the same scheduling — but you run it on your own infrastructure and you are never charged per automation run. Some are visual and no-code, some are code-first for developers. Here are six worth evaluating. n8n n8n is the closest open source equivalent to Zapier or Make in terms of approachability. It has a visual drag-and-drop workflow builder with over 400 integrations, and you can drop into JavaScript for custom logic when the built-in nodes do not cover your use case.…